Relactation

adoty8412

I was put on heart medication 4 days after my son was born and was told by my OB that I shouldn't breastfeed because the medication can pass through the breast milk.

I've been without the heart medication for about 2 weeks and my doctor told me that I should discontinue use altogether.

I'm considering breastfeeding/pumping again but am almost dried up. I've read that it's possible to regain milk production but am having a difficult time deciding whether to try to start back up or not. Part of me wants to try again because breast milk is better than formula but the other part of me doesn't want the hassle of regaining my milk supply.

Any advice? Thanks!

SashaDenn25

Its just a choice youre going to have to make. For me, I would totally try because I want my baby to be breasfed for all the benefits it has for her. However, at the end of the day you are taking care of your child and their needs whether breastfeeding or fornula feeding. Its just a personal decision.

delujm0

Too little too late I guess, but for the benefit of lurkers...couldn't you have pumped and dumped while on the medication? At least that way your body would have been producing enough that when you actually start breastfeeding again you'd have a head start. I mean pumping is super annoying especially if you're not going to use it (I got mad about dumping 3 bottles bc I pumped them prior to going dairy-free) but if it is super important to you that you breastfeed this could have been an option.

I'd suggest trying to latch to start each feeding and supplementing with formula as needed. I'd also suggest pumping after each feed to try to get your body to produce more. If you can afford to rent a hospital grade pump for a few months, that may help.

ETA: this will take considerable time and effort...at this point I'd probably just stick to formula. There is nothing wrong with formula feeding. But if breastfeeding is very important to you, and you want to put in the time to get it going, you may be able to.